The conventional wisdom, hawked by mainstream counterterror analysts such as the appalling Max Abrahms, is that the Islamic State has nothing to do with genuine Islam, which Islamic jihadis generally know little to nothing about. Yet again and again we see jihadis themselves explaining that they turned to jihad after becoming devout in their observance of Islam. Lirim Sylejmani “said he found religion,” and that this was the impetus for his joining the Islamic State (ISIS). “I wanted to live in an Islamic country,” he says. Doesn’t he know that all our moral superiors assure us that ISIS has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam? Pope Francis, call your office!
“United States Citizen Who Joined ISIS Charged With Material Support Violations,” Department of Justice, September 16, 2020 (thanks to Creeping Sharia):
An indictment and arrest warrant were unsealed today in the federal court of the District of Columbia charging Lirim Sylejmani, a Kosovo-born naturalized U.S. citizen, with conspiring to provide, providing, and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and receiving training from ISIS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2339B and 2339D.
Sylejmani was detained overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and recently transferred into FBI custody. Sylejmani made his initial appearance before U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C….
“The defendant is a U.S. citizen who abandoned the country that welcomed him to join ISIS in Syria” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin. “He will now be held accountable for his actions in an American courtroom. Our national security prosecutors and law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that those who threaten our country are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”…
“Sylejmani allegedly traveled to Syria with the intent to join, train with, and fight on behalf of ISIS, said Matthew R. Alcoke, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division….
According to the allegations in the indictment, from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani conspired to provide and provided material support and resources, including personnel and services, to ISIS in Syria and received military training from the terrorist organization. The defendant was captured by the SDF in 2019 and has spoken to a number of media outlets about his time with ISIS….
“US citizen ISIS member wants to know why he can’t go home,” by Jared Szuba, Defense Post, November 19, 2019 (thanks to Creeping Sharia:
HASAKAH, Syria – Lirim Sulejmani limped over a green steel threshold, his gnarled toes bare on the filthy concrete. An orange jumpsuit, inside-out, was draped over his emaciated shoulders.
When the Kosovo-native was 23, he found refuge in the United States after fleeing a genocidal regime. Sixteen years later, he decided to join one.
Sulejmani is one of hundreds of American citizens believed to have joined Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2014. But as the Trump administration transfers dozens of high-priority ISIS suspects from makeshift prisons across northeast Syria as U.S. troops levels draw down, he is beginning to fear he may have been left behind….
“I asked to be deported to Kosovo, because it’s a small country,” he told The Defense Post in a prison holding room last week.
“If there’s a jail, from any point to the border in Kosovo – from one border to the other border is not more than 200 km.”
After a moment he added, “I thought that might make it easier for my wife to visit.”…
After coming to the U.S. in 1999, he said he met and married a woman in Chicago. But their first child died following the 2008 recession, as he recalls, so they moved to Canada – where Lirim said he found religion.
“I was not religious,” he said. “My wife was more religious than I was,” his eyes darting to the ski-masked guards….
His decision to traffick his wife and two infant children, Aisha and Muhammad, across three countries and into an active war zone was “very spontaneous,” he recalled. “I wanted to live in an Islamic country.”
The pseudo-caliphate was a natural choice. Asked why an established conservative Islamic country – like Saudi Arabia, for example – was not a better option, he said moving there would have been laden with bureaucracy.
Besides, Islamic State’s propaganda was alluring. Sulejmani recalled a calling upon doctors and engineers to make hijra, or to immigrate, to the self-proclaimed Islamic State from around the world.
“I watched this video, they said we’ll give you housing, free electricity,” he said. “It just sounded very nice.”
Sulejmani denied he ever watched videos of violence or beheadings. “I was too weak for that,” he said. But he was aware of them.
“They did not scare me. It’s a form of punishment under Sharia,” he said, “because of the crimes they commit.”…